Telegram Herald

BOOMER COOKERY.

Oklahoma Man Roasted Turkey.

I was among the first to enter the new city of Chandler, in Oklahoma--not as a boomer, but as a boomer's caterer, a vocation which I decidedly prefer. Business was marvelously brisk while I was there, and so far as booking orders and taking in money were concerned I did well. But the tortures of hunger and thirst we endured were calculated to draw profanity from the most careful of men. The best meal we had was off a wild turkey secured in some inexplicable manner. There were no cooking utensils or appliances handy, but an old pioneer who had been through the mill before offered to prepare the meal if allowed to share in it. His offer was accepted, and his efforts were watched with much incredulity and very little hope. He simply rolled the bird, feathers and all, in mud until it was caked completely. Then he roasted the queer-looking concern over a wood fire, and when he thought it was done tore off the baked mud and clay. Feathers and skin came with the covering, leaving a not very inviting skinless but well-browned bird. The boomer had timed the operation to a nicety, the turkey was cooked to a turn, and though it was of uncertain age was fairly tender and delicious in flavor. Even making allowance for the sweet sauce hunger is admitted to be it is only common fairness to describe that meal as a success, and I have eaten many a worse cooked and tougher bird in a first-class restaurant.